JeM Commander Admits Masood Azhar’s Family Killed in Operation Sindoor

A video of senior Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander Masood Ilyas Kashmiri has gone viral, in which he makes a startling admission that the family of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar was “torn into pieces” during India’s Operation Sindoor on May 7 this year.

The strike reportedly targeted Jaish-e-Mohammad’s headquarters, Markaz Subhanallah, situated in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, long considered the group’s operational hub. “In defending this land, we embraced militancy and fought in Delhi, Kabul and Kandahar to protect its borders. After giving everything, on May 7, Indian forces struck in Bahawalpur, tearing apart the family of Maulana Masood Azhar.”

The video shows Ilyas speaking in a high-pitched tone into a microphone, with several gun-wielding guards standing in the background.

According to reports, in the strike of Bahawalpur, the 12th largest city in Pakistan, located 400 km from Lahore, 10 of Azhar's relatives were among those killed. It included his sister, her husband, his nephew, his niece and children from his extended family. Four of Azhar's aides were also killed in the pre-dawn attack.

Operation Sindoor was launched by India in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 civilian lives in Jammu and Kashmir. The May 7 operation targeted multiple terror infrastructures of both Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba inside Pakistan.

While Pakistan has not officially confirmed the details of the Bahawalpur strike, JeM’s own commander’s statement is being seen as a significant admission of India’s operational success.

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